The artists keep getting better and better each day. This is a fabulous group of 10!
A close association with Tommy James helped this group:
#180: Alive and Kicking--"Tighter, Tighter"
Up next, one of several groups that Glen Campbell worked with in his early years:
This group was formed in 1968 in the basement of original bass guitarist Rich Luisi. They were led by singers Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toder and included Bruce Sudano, eventual bassist Woody Wilson, guitarist John Parisio and drummer Ron Pell.
Alive and Kicking signed a recording contract with Roulette Records, the same label as Tommy James & the Shondells. James originally considered having Alive and Kicking record "Crystal Blue Persuasion", but he liked it so much he kept that one for his group, so James co-wrote "Tighter, Tighter" for them.
"Tighter, Tighter" was released in 1970, reached #7 and sold over one million copies. After their next two singles could not continue the success, the group broke up in 1971. They did reunite in 1976 and still play at parties and weddings.
Up next, one of several groups that Glen Campbell worked with in his early years:
#179: Rip Chords--"Hey Little Cobra"
In 1957, Ernie Bringas and Phil Stewart began singing together following their graduation from high school and founded the Rip Chords. With the help of Doris Day's recording company, Daywin, the group auditioned for Melcher (Day's son) at Columbia Records and Melcher agreed to work with the group.
The Rip Chords released "Here I Stand" in 1963, with lead and falsetto vocals by Bringas and baritone from Stewart. The single, which reached #51, was produced by Melcher while Glen Campbell contributed lead guitar. Bruce Johnston, a friend of Melcher, joined the Rip Chords and contributed falsetto vocals on the single "Gone" with Bringas singing lead. "Gone" did well in several regional markets but did not chart nationally. The group appeared on television and performed around the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.
Bringas, who was studying to be a minister, graduated from California State University, Long Beach and was ready to begin studies at United Theological Seminary. This made live appearances difficult since essentially, Stewart was the only other member of the group. Also, conservative officials of Bringas's church, the Evangelical United Brethren, demanded that Bringas should give up music. Reluctantly, he did.
Stewart hired Rich Rotkin and Arnie Marcus to join him for the purpose of touring as the Rip Chords, but the two did not appear on any recordings. Without Bringas, Melcher and Johnston officially joined the group. Melcher and Carol Conners co-wrote "Hey Little Cobra" and the Rip Chords recorded it. Melcher sang lead for the first time and Johnston contributed the falsetto.
"Hey Little Cobra" reached #4 nationally and was one of the highlights of the drag-racing theme that had become popular in the Rock scene. Meanwhile, the Bishop of the Evangelical United Brethren overturned the former ruling of church officials and Bringas returned to the Rip Chords to record the album Hey Little Cobra.
The follow-up single was "Three Window Coupe", which reached #28. The group released one other single before eventually disbanding.
Melcher became one of Columbia's most innovative and successful producers, working with Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Byrds, and producing "Kokomo" for the Beach Boys. Johnston later joined the Beach Boys.
Up next, the act that would serve as the launching pad for Bad Company:
#178: Free--"All Right Now"
This English rock band formed in London in 1968. They came together for their first rehearsal, then played a show that same night at the Nag's Head pub in London. At the time, bassist Andy Fraser was 15 years old, lead guitarist Paul Kossoff was 17, and lead singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke were 18. Later that year, Free signed a recording contract with Island Records in the U.K. and A&M in North America and recorded their debut album Tons of Sobs.
The group's self-titled release was next, but it was Fire and Water in 1970 that made them famous. As is nearly always the case, it was a huge hit that did the trick. "All Right Now" was a #1 song in over 20 countries, hit #2 in the U.K. and #4 in the United States. The song has now been played on the radio over three million times.
Free released the album Highway later in 1970, marking an output of four albums in less than three years. Unlike Fire and Water, Highway performed poorly on the charts.
Free was famous for their spectacular live performances. "All Right Now" helped Free land a spot at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, where they played before 600,000 people.
In 1971, due to the drug problems of Kossoff and differences between Rodgers and Fraser, along with inconsistent record sales, Free broke up. The next year, however, the group reformed in an attempt to save Kossoff from his growing drug addiction, and released the album Free at Last.
The group broke up in 1973 but its members have made great contributions to the Rock Era since. Rodgers became the famous voice behind Bad Company and the Firm while Kirke was Bad Company's drummer. Andy Fraser continued his career with several bands and also wrote "Every Kinda' People", which Robert Palmer turned into a huge hit in 1978, while Kossoff became a demanded session musician.
This artist split from House of Pain to enjoy a big solo hit:
#177: Everlast--"What It's Like"
The group signed a recording contract with Tommy Boy Records and released their self-titled debut in 1992. Thanks to the hit "Jump Around", the album went multi-platinum. House of Pain toured with the Ramones, the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine.
But in 1996, House of Pain broke up, and once again Everlast set out on a solo career. He recorded the album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, which contained the track "What It's Like". The single was a Mainstream Rock smash and reached #13 overall in the United States. It was a hit in six other countries, including reaching #6 in Canada, leading the album to achieve three million in sales, and the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Male Performance. The single "Ends" was also a Mainstream Rock hit, it did not reach the Top 100 overall.
Although Everlast never again achieved a major worldwide hit by himself, he did collaborate with Santana on the highly-acclaimed "Put Your Lights On" on the album Supernatural. That track reached #8 on the Mainstream Rock chart and won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Everlast has released six albums and 19 singles in his career.
This promising artist burst on the scene in 1996:
#176: Shawn Colvin--"Sunny Came Home"
Shawn Colvin learned how to play guitar at the age of 10. She moved to Austin, Texas and joined a swing band known as the Dixie Diesels. She played on the Folk-Rock circuit in Illinois and San Francisco before forming the Shawn Colvin Band.
Colvin later moved to New York City and thrived in Greenwich Village. Shawn appeared in three off-Broadway shows and in 1987, sang backing vocals on the hit "Luka" for Suzanne Vega.
After touring with Vega, Colvin signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. She released her debut album Steady On in 1989, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Fat City in 1992 was nominated at the Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Recording and the song "I Don't Know Why" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal. In 1993, Colvin moved back to Austin and released Cover Girl, a collection of remakes.
In 1996, Colvin released the album A Few Small Repairs. The single "Sunny Came Home" became one of the year's biggest hits, reaching #7 overall and landing at number one for four weeks on the influential Adult Contemporary chart. The song won Grammys for both Song and Record of the Year and A Few Small Repairs was nominated for Best Pop Album.
Since 2000, Colvin has collaborated with several other artists including James Taylor, Sting, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Edwin McCain and Shawn Mullins. Colvin has released 8 albums and 15 singles in her career. But despite much critical recognition, "Sunny Came Home" represented her only major success.
Sun Records may have had Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, but it was this artist who gave the label its first million-seller:
#175: Carl Perkins--"Blue Suede Shoes"
Perkins worked in the cotton fields of Tennessee after school and 12-14 hours in the summer for 50 cents a day. He became interested in music, so his father made a guitar from a cigar box and a broomstick, since they could not purchase a real one. Carl taught himself how to play, then got some help from a fellow field worker named John Westbrook, who played Blues and Gospel.
Perkins and his family moved to Madison County, Tennessee in 1947 and at age 14, Carl wrote the song "Let Me Take You To The Movie, Magg", which later convinced Sam Phillips to sign Perkins to his Sun Records label. Carl and his brother Jay entertained at the Cotton Boll tavern on Wednesday nights in 1946. Soon, the brothers became well known around Jackson, Mississippi and Carl persuaded his brother Clayton to play bass fiddle.
Perkins began performing on WTJS-AM in Jackson in the late 1940's as a member of the Tennessee Ramblers and the Perkins Brothers received overwhelming positive response. Perkins continued to pick cotton and worked at a dairy, a mattress factory and a battery plant.
In 1954, Perkins heard "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" by Elvis Presley. Presley was already signed to Sun Records, and Perkins traveled to Memphis and successfully auditioned for Phillips. "Movie Magg" and "Turn Around" were released as singles with regional success. Perkins was booked to open for Presley at theaters in Arkansas.
After a couple more singles, Perkins wrote "Blue Suede Shoes". Several weeks later, Perkins recorded the song, which reached #2 in the United States and the Top 10 in the U.K. in 1956. It was the first song on the Sun label to sell a million copies.
After a show in Norfolk, Virginia on March 21, the Perkins Brothers were heading to New York City for an appearance on The Perry Como Show. Shortly before sunrise on March 22, the driver hit the back of a pickup truck, sending the car into a ditch of water. Perkins was lying face down in the water when one of the passengers rolled him over, saving him from drowning. But, he had suffered three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a severe concussion, a broken collar bone, and lacerations all over his body. Carl's brother Jay died later from a fractured neck and severe internal injuries suffered in the accident.
"Blue Suede Shoes", meanwhile, had sold over one million copies and Perkins received a Gold record for his huge hit. Perkins returned to live shows on April 21 and he recorded songs at Sun Studios. He played a tour of the "Top Stars of '56" along with Chuck Berry and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
Sun released more Perkins singles, with "Boppin' The Blues" doing the best at #70. One day when Perkins was recording, Presley visited the studio. Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis were also there and the four spent over an hour signing R&B, Gospel and Country songs while the tape was rolling. The casual session was dubbed "The Million Dollar Quartet" the next day, and it was eventually released on CD in 1990.
In 1957, Perkins starred in the movie Jamboree before moving to Columbia Records. But no songs were able to capture worldwide attention there either. Perkins performed at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1962 and 1963, as well as going on a tour of Germany. In 1964, Perkins toured England and afterwards, the Beatles asked him if they could record one of his songs, "Matchbox". Perkins gave permission and the Beatles did just that.
Perkins' songs were recorded by Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash. Perkins released 17 singles in his career.
Perkins has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he earned a Hall of Fame award from the Grammys.
Songwriting prowess led to a big hit for this artist:
#174: Tony Rich Project--"Nobody Knows"
After Tony Rich attracted the attention of the production team of Tim & Bob, the two arranged for Rich to become a staff writer at LaFace Records. While at LaFace, Tony wrote songs for artists stuch as Boyz II Men, TLC and Toni Braxton.
Rich's songwriting work led to a recording contract with LaFace. In 1996, he released the single "Nobody Knows" under the moniker The Tony Rich Project. The single was an across-the-board smash, reaching #2 and the debut album Words was released. Both single and album went Platinum and Rich won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.
The follow-up album Birdseye won critical praise, but as many artists have found before, critics don't buy a whole lot of albums. Rich has released five albums and five singles in his career, but could never match the success of his first release.
It was all in the family for this next artist:
#173: Roseanne Cash--"Seven Year Ache"
Roseanne Cash, the oldest daughter of Johnny Cash, achieved her breakthrough single in 1981 with "Seven Year Ache", which reached #22 overall and was #1 on the much-smaller Country chart.
Cash never did cross over with a hit the size of "Seven Year Ache". Her closest attempt was her 1985 song "I Don' Know Why You Don't Want Me", which was a minor Adult Contemporary hit.
Cash has written fiction and essays that have been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine, and other periodicals and collections.
This talented singer/songwriter came out with her worldwide breakthrough in 1993:
#172: Jann Arden--"Insensitive"
Arden has released 10 career albums and 24 singles, and has enjoyed great success in her native Canada (17 Top 10 songs in Canada, eight Juno Awards and 19 Juno nominations). Unfortunately, "Insensitive" has been the only song to break out of Canada to worldwide success.
This artist stunned listeners with this amazing song, then stunned them again when it was his only big hit:
#171: Timmy T--"One More Try"
Timmy T (Torres) was in a few Rap groups in the Fresno, California area but decided he preferred dance music. He bought a Moog synthesizer and a Roland TR-808 drum machine at a local pawn shop and recorded his first single, "Time After Time", in his garage. That song reached #40.
Torres wrote this song after breaking up with his girlfriend.
"One More Try" was a #1 smash in the U.S. and was a global hit.
Timmy T. released several more singles but was unable to reach the Top 40 again.
We hope you'll be right here for the next segment, #170-161, tomorrow exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!
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